Motorola plans to launch 4G version of Moto E in India by May

New Delhi: US-based Motorola is hopeful of bringing the 4G version of its popular affordable smartphone, Moto E, to India by May this year, pricing it under Rs 10,000 as it looks to compete with brands like Xiaomi and Yu.

Motorola, which was acquired by Chinese technology giant Lenovo from Google last year, sells its devices in India through e—commerce firm Flipkart.

"We expect to launch the 4G version of Moto E in India in the next two months," Motorola India General Manager Amit Boni said.

Two weeks ago, Motorola had announced the global launch of the 3G and 4G versions of the new Moto E in more than 50 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

The unlocked 4G-enabled handset is available for USD 149.99 (about Rs 9,400) in the US, while the 3G version is priced at USD 119.99 (around Rs 7,500).

On the pricing of the devices, Boni said: "We have not decided on the pricing, but my sense is that it will be sub-Rs 10,000."

The 4G version of the device would compete with the likes of Lenovo's A6000 (Rs 6,999), Yu's Yureka (Rs 8,999) and Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G (Rs 9,999).

According to CyberMedia Research, iPhone maker Apple was the largest 4G LTE smartphone vendor in India with a market share of 45 per cent in October-December 2014 period.

With increasing usage of data services and telecom players gearing up to offer 4G services (which provides higher speed), handset makers are also lining up devices at affordable price points to tap the opportunity.

Motorola launched the second generation of Moto E, which features Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU and advanced graphics.

Priced at Rs 6,999, the new Moto E will be available exclusively through online marketplace Flipkart from Wednesday.

Running on Android's latest Lollipop operating system, the 3G handset sports a 4.5-inch screen and comes with a 5-megapixel rear camera. The handset has a 2,390 mAh battery.

With the new Moto E, users will get Moto experiences like Moto Display for notifications and updates as well as Moto Migrate to easily transfer contacts, photos and videos to their new handset.